The new card will be adopted during the council’s first zonal meeting in 2014 and 6th extraordinary general assembly underway in Banjul from 23rd to 25th April.
The three-day event, hosted by the Gambia National Bureau of the Ecowas Brown Card, is being attended by at least 70 senior insurance officials from various countries in West Africa.
Ebou Bittaye, chairman of the Gambia National Bureau, said the meeting is expected to arrive at firm decisions about the new brown card and settlement that would be acceptable by all.
The Ecowas Brown Card Insurance Scheme is said to be the most successful tools for integration within the sub-region as it facilitates the safe movement of peoples and goods within West Africa.
Basiru Njai, first deputy governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, said the important scheme would be magnified by the expected increase in trade and road traffic, following the implementation of the common external tariff in West Africa in 2015.
He said the scheme also serves as a facilitator of trade and tourism in the subregion of 300 million people with a fast growing middle class, in addition to providing compensations to victims of road accidents across member states.
The Ecowas Brown Card Scheme is a compulsory insurance cover for victims of road traffic accident involving vehicles traveling across the West African subregion. It covers death, medical expenses, bodily injury and material damage.
The Scheme was established in 1982 with the objectives to enhance the free movement of road users and foster a real regional integration. It also aims to guarantee a fair and prompt compensation to the victims of road accidents for losses suffered by visiting motorists travelling from other Ecowas member countries.
The three-day meeting of the Council of Bureau of Ecowas Brown Card in Banjul is expected to adopt the report of the interim committee whose remit included: review of the founding text of the Brown Card Scheme, including the protocols governing its institutional existence; review of the mechanism of claims settlement; and suggesting new ways to facilitate claims payment.
By Lamin Jahateh
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